Web Cast Tech Help

HOW DO I TEST MY WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER? Click here. Microsoft answers the most common video player questions online at this link, click here, but you may want to read below first.

HOW DO I ADJUST MY WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER SETTINGS FOR MAX PERFORMANCE? SATELLITE USERS READ THIS TOO!! There are 2 main settings on Windows Media player that will optimize your performance. To get to these settings, right click on the actual player window. From there choose options. If you are on satellite like Directway or Wildblue or a wireless connection like Verizon you need to adjust the top settings for "connection speed". Choose DSL/Cable 256kbs. These types of connections are not constant and the bitrate may change every few seconds. The second setting is "network buffering". The higher you make this setting the better your perfoamance as your macine will grab data in advance and try to keep up in the background.

SITE IS ASKING ME TO DOWNLOAD A PLUG-IN? This should be a rare problem for those of you running Winodws. MAC users, you will need to get Windows Media player 10 from Microsoft.com or Quicktime from Mac. HorseCity.com is making big strides to broadcast all feeds with the highest standards. You may have an old or outdated version of Windows Media Player. GOOD NEWS! The latest player is 100% FREE! Click here.

STATUS WINDOW BELOW THE FEED SAYS "WAITING". This means the time your player is set to buffer has run out and is not getting a feed from the event. This may mean the feed from the event has dropped, the event is over for the day or you may just need to wait a few minutes until the feed from the site catches up with the servers. Wait 60 seconds and click the play button on the player. If your feed begins to buffer you are good to go. If not, keep reading on this page. You may need to adjust your buffer time.

GETTING AN ERROR BOX? If you get an error that says, Requested file not found, media not found, etc. the link may be outdated or inaccurate." This means that either the feed has not started, the feed is over, or the feed has been delayed. THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM with your computer. Simply try back again later or check the schedule of events for the show. HorseCity.com simply feeds video from the event, if the Internet connection at the event drops there is almost nothing HorseCity.com can do. Sorry.

DELAY PROBLEMS? If you are on a dial up internet connection, you probably will not be able to view the feed. These feeds are designed for high-speed internet customers only. Video feeds require more than a 56k connection. With that said, even on a fast connection you can have delay issues. Think of your computer being connected to our video server with a garden hose. Due to the nature of the net, every now and again a bit of air, using the hose example, gets in the line. This can happen on your or our end, when this happens the feed drops. A hickup of sorts. But, it may just drop for you and not for others. The best way to fix this is to right click on the windows media player and chose options. Then click the box that says buffer and change the buffer setting to 15 seconds or higher. The slower your connection the higher you should adjust your buffer. When and if you do this, press F5. Maybe even close and restart your browser. Another important thing to do is above the buffer, check the circle that says, "Choose connection type" and choose yours rather than let your computer do it for you.

Microsoft offers extensive tech help on the WM Player too. Click Here.

VIDEO STILL PLAYING CHOPPY? Turn off or turn down your video acceleration. Right click on the player window and choose options. At the bottom choose advanced options. Turn down the video acceleration bar to 50% or turn it off if you are not on a VERY fast connection. If this screws things up, you can always come back and click restore defaults.

MY FEED IS ONLY SHOWING ONE PICTURE EVERY FEW SECONDS? Be sure that the feed is the only application running on your PC. Excel, Outlook, etc. rob RAM from your PC and will slow down the feed. Also, this feed is designed for people with broadband (high speed) Internet access (i.e. Cable, DSL). If you are on dial up AOL, Earhtlink, etc. the feed will be VERY slow.

FEED STILL NOT WORKING? Click here to report a problem with the feed. Be sure to check the event schedule before reporting a problem. Please consider possible time differences as well - 8 pm in California is midnight on the east coast. Our tech staff works very hard to provide great webcasts, but being awakened in the night for a false alarm makes their jobs much more difficult.

Good luck, your friends at the HorseCity.com Tech support team

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